Emmanuel-Alfred Beurdeley (1847-1919)

Paris, circa 1880

gilt bronze, mahogany, white marble

Stamped ‘A BEURDELEY A PARIS’

Please note that this piece currently located in Hong Kong

Emmanuel Alfred Beurdeley (1847-1919) at the Beurdeley Hôtel Particulier, 79 rue de Clichy, Paris.

Beurdeley family Collection, Paris.

Lecoules Collection, Paris.

C. Mestdagh, L’Ameublement d’art français 1850-1900, Paris, 2010, p. 17, fig.13.

The works of the Beurdeley family reached a height of quality that surpassed all but a small handful of other nineteenth-century luxury furniture makers, and their work is so well-executed that it is often difficult to distinguish from the works of the golden era of French furniture-making in the eighteenth century.

The design influences of the eighteenth century are clear in this commode, which can easily be identified as a piece that is in the neoclassical style popular under Louis XVI, and reminiscent of the oeuvre of the great cabinetmaker Adam Weisweiler. Without departing from this overall unity, though, we see Beurdeley creatively playing with the typical elements of the style, infusing them with novelties that make the piece feel fresh. The central cherub with the legs transforming into curled leaves is not necessarily typical for the panels on the front of a Louis XVI commode, but was a common motif for surrounding decorative arts in a room such as firedogs or the painted wall decoration composed of spiralled tendrils that was generally known as the ‘Etruscan style’.

The leaves depicted are also from plants that were considered classical in their associations: the smaller leaves are laurel leaves, one of the symbols of the god Apollo and given in wreaths to athletic victors, while the larger-leaved acanthus is commonly seen in the capitals of Corinthian columns of both Ancient Greece and Rome. Other touches of innovation from Beurdeley on this commode include the sunflowers incorporated into the frieze mounts and the use of a finial on the mounts just below the corners of the breakfront.

This commode is almost certainly the piece that was photographed in the home of the Beurdeley family in around 1910, given that the design appears to be wholly unique. Alfred-Emmanuel Beurdeley, often called Alfred II to distinguish him from his father Louis-Auguste-Alfred, had sold his gallery and workshops in 1895 and ended the family succession of great cabinet-makers that dated back to 1818. As well as many pieces of fine Beurdeley furniture, he also had a vast collection of fine art, including one of Europe’s most important collections of engravings.